Ossie Cruse

Oswald “Uncle Ossie” Cruse is a highly respected Aboriginal Elder, Christian pastor and advocate for Aboriginal rights in Australia. Born in Orbost, Victoria, he grew up amid overt racism and segregation. Leaving formal schooling at the age of 11, he worked in seasonal labour and experienced alcohol dependency before finding faith and turning his life around.

In the 1960s, he joined the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) and in the wake of the 1967 referendum became active in civil and land rights campaigns. He held leadership roles in the NSW Aboriginal Advisory Council, NSW Aboriginal Land Council, and the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. In 1982, he led a delegation to post-colonial African nations with Gough Whitlam and Ghillar Michael Anderson, building international awareness for a treaty with Aborigines in Australia and helping shape the global Indigenous rights agenda.

As pastor of the Aboriginal Evangelical Fellowship Church in Eden NSW, he combines spirituality with advocacy, community building and cultural revival. Locally he founded the Monaroo Bobberrer Gudu Cultural Heritage Keeping Place and was active in the revitalisation of the ancient Bundian Way walking trail as a cultural healing pathway. He has been recognised with an MBE and national honours including an AM for his service to Aboriginal people. As one commentator remarked, “He had the capacity to have politicians come to the table and they’d listen.”

Today, Uncle Ossie remains active in mentoring youth, fostering reconciliation and ensuring that connections to Country, culture and language continue to be celebrated and passed on.